Palestinian bid painted as peace step

By DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE STAFF FROM WIRE REPORTS

Posted: November 29, 2012 at 4:26 a.m.

Credit: AP
Palestinian schoolgirls hold pictures of President Mahmoud Abbas with Yasser Arafat, flowers and olive branches during a rally Wednesday in the West Bank city of Nablus supporting the Palestinian bid to the United Nations for observer status.

A bid for U.N. recognition of a state of Palestine is a last-ditch attempt to rescue troubled Mideast peace efforts, a Palestinian spokesman said Wednesday, rejecting Israel’s claim that it is an attempt to bypass negotiations.